Madison Main Street Extends Business Resiliency Fund Into June

Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 4:04 PM

By Madison Main Street Program

This is the second month of the new grant program, with more than $10,000 distributed in May.

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(Madison, Ind.) - Madison Main Street announced today that it will be awarding a total of $8,750 in grants to 22 downtown businesses to help cover June rent or mortgage payments. This is the second month of the new grant program, with more than $10,000 distributed in May.

According to Executive Director Austin Sims, grants ranging in amounts from $200 to $700 were awarded to: Mad Paddle Brewery, Serendipity Boutique of Madison, Island Style Massage, Yoga on Main, RoundAbout Entertainment Guide, Simply Natural Salon & Spa, Fine Threads & Little People’s Boutique, Ditto’s, Shipley’s Tavern, Rugged Willow, 2nd Street Carriage House, Curl Up & Dye Again, Mad Flea, Just the Word, Attic to Basement/Sugar on Main, Shannon’s Mark of Beauty, French Tulip, 2 Sister’s B&B, Floating Cow, Unique Boutique, K&K Beauty Studio, and Scrub Board Laundromat.

The grants are through Main Street’s new Business Resiliency Fund, made possible in June by contributions from the Duke Energy Foundation through the City of Madison Department of Economic Development. Additional donations were received from private citizens and local businesses. The grants, covering up to 50% of the monthly payment, are distributed to businesses on a reimbursement basis.

Madison Main Street, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has plans for this fund to become an ongoing relief opportunity for downtown businesses during times of crisis. “We want to take pressure off our downtown businesses, to allow them to focus on making sales and getting customers in their doors, “Sims said.

Additional contributions should be payable to Madison Main Street, with Business Resiliency in the memo line, and mailed to P.O. Box 327, Madison, Indiana 47250. For more information, call or e-mail Austin Sims, executive director, 812-274-0195, madisonmainstreetprogram@gmail.com.

Madison was one of the first three original Main Street pilot communities in the United States in 1977. Madison Main Street is designated by Indiana Main Street as a nationally accredited community in the Main Street America program.

“As a Main Street organization, we are not successful unless our downtown businesses are successful,” Sims stated. The local organization spearheads many projects that assist businesses and bring people downtown, including Music in the Park, Fourth Fridays, Girls’ Weekend, and the Main Street Loft Tour.